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How to Remove Hard Water

Monday, May 25, 2009

I clean my sink with ajax every day after washing the dishes, but that doesn't prevent this nasty build up. I have very stubborn Utah hard water.

I have tried all of the hard water products out there, saturating my faucets and soaking my fridge tray overnight. All I have gotten from my efforts are deadly fumes from the toxic chemicals in the cleaners. A couple of years ago I learned the cleaning power of VINEGAR. I used it to clean my humidifier because the instructions said to. It took off the hard water like it was nothing! I started using vinegar on my faucets and everything else and it was amazing!!! I now buy vinegar in bulk at Costco and use it for my heavy duty cleaning needs. Vinegar is cheap and non toxic.

Here is how to use cheap plain white vinegar to get rid of hard water:

For the refrigerator in-door dish:
Pop the dish out, pour a little vinegar in it and let it sit for about 20 minutes. I use an old toothbrush and the hard water just wipes off without any scrubbing.

To clean faucets:
Soak some paper towels in vinegar and placed them on the areas with hard water. Fill a spray bottle filled with vinegar and spray the towels every time you walked past. After about 20 minutes take the towels off and scrub off the hard water with an old toothbrush. For areas with thick hard water, put the towels back on, spray with more vinegar and wait another hour keeping the towels soaked with vinegar. You shouldn't have to scrub really hard, the hard water will off easily after soaking in vinegar.
Warning: Do not use vinegar on marble countertops or other stoneware, as it can cause the stone to pit and corrode.

You can also use vinegar on shower heads to unclog all of the holes. One of my shower heads detaches from the base and is easily soaked in a bucket. For the other one I have to tie a bag filled with vinegar to it.

Update:
Since writing this post, I bought a water softener and no longer need to use vinegar to remove hard water. Having a water softener has made cleaning much easier!

153 comments
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We have the same issue with the water tray in the fridge. Ours just pops out and I fill it with vinegar. I'm not sure where I heard about vinegar, actually, it could have been my mom, but it is the best solution to Utah hard water. I wish the previous owner of our home had known about vinegar trick. They used something sharp to scrape it away from the kitchen faucet and scratched the sink around it. I will definately be trying the paper towel trick.

Vinegar in your carpet machine instead of the cleaner solution works great.Otherwise mix half and half with water..saturate area from pet ,blot with towel. As vinegar dries and the spell goes away so will the pet smell.It is a natural deodorizer.

the cleaner called CLR is a lot faster, easier and is one of the few that actually works just don't try running it though your coffee pot as it works a little to good and will take the seals out and the machine will leak afterwards---you only have to soak stuff in clr for a few minutes stubborn things like showers heads I like to use a toothbrush on just because I'm picky.

I have used vinegar for years and never heard of a cleaning vinegar. I wouldn't want to use WD-40 because of ingredients and smell. Then you have to clean off the WD-40. DR. OZ says even a 10%vinegar to water solution will kill nearly all household germs. Vinegar in a bowl in a sick room is a good way to absorb smells. Or a room that smells like dirty socks.

I have been using Borateem Borax in my laundry and dish washers to combat hard water. I often add vinegar to laundry rinse cycle to get a more thorough rinse, or in wash or rinse cycle for deodorizing and germ killing,especially bath and kitchen towels. About 1/2 cup of either. FYI white wine will make red wine disappear on carpet. A saged Grandma tip.

I use vinegar in my carpet shampooer also. I mix it about 50-50 with water. It cleans and brightens my carpets like nothing else. The smell will dissipate after a couple hours, and the carpets are fresh smelling. I also have a dog, and there are occasional accidents. This cleaning method is the best for carpets. NOTE: I would test for colorfastness in an out of the way area before cleaning. I have not had problems, but better safe than sorry.

You may have already gotten your answer, but I don't see it here, and I hate unanswered questions! There is no need to spend money on apple cider vinegar for cleaning -save that for your hair, face, and heartburn! For cleaning, cheap white vinegar is great.

Apple cider vinegar evens out you ph balance much like a toner. Apple cider vinegar can also be used to strip your hair like a clarifying shampoo, but if I was you I d leave that to your beautician as it is extremely acidic. And if you decide to enjoy this gorgeous summer by taki g a stroll through wooded areas spray it on yourself and clothes it is a natural flea repellent.

Apple cider vinegar evens out your ph balance much like a toner.ACV can also strip hair much like a clarifying shampoo, but I would leave that to your beautician as it is extremely acidic. A nd if you should choose to go for a stroll in a wooded area spray some on yourself and clothes it s a flea natural flea repellent.

I found out about you on "Today's Creative Blog"- THANK YOU for the hard water tip. I have hard west texas well water and I have spent a small fortune buying cleaners and my house still looks like your before pictures- I can't wait to give this a try.

Thank you for posting this with pictures. I have used vinger for many cleaning needs, such as tile floors and grout but never thought about hard water. Now I know what I am doing now this weekend. My bathroom faucet is getting the vinger treatmeant and so is that little tray on the fridge.

Hi Jen thanks for the tip, it sounds fabby.. I also have seen this method of descaling on 'How Clean is Your House' but I was wondering is it a particular vinegar? Here in the UK we have white vinegar, pickling vinegar, malt vinegar? I wonder which vinegar it is? I am assuming white vinegar?

Yes, thank you, although I've known about using vinegar for hard water deposits, but it helps to see the before and after pics. What I'd really like to know is how do you get rid of the hard water spots on shower doors? Do you just spray the vinegar on the doors? Someone said we should soak paper towels and plaster them on the doors, but they slide off. Any great tricks for this? Thanks!

I've heard to use a solution of one part vinegar to one part dawn dish soap for cleaning shower doors and tubs. You just mix it in a spray bottle, spray it on and let it sit as long as necessary (you can even leave it overnight to soak). It works really well. Then I've also heard that once the shower doors are clean to use rain x (like what you put on your car windows) to keep it from building up as much and makes it easier to clean. I haven't tried the rain x, but it makes sense and it works on the car, so maybe.

I use vinegar for almost all my cleaning projects, but our glass shower doors have water spots and even though we spray them with vinegar after each shower, the spots are still there. I heard that the glass becomes pitted from the hard water and there is no way to get rid of the spots. If anyone knows a way, I would love to hear about it.

I cleaned my clear glass shower doors just days ago. I used a scrub pad and Borax (buy in laundry detergent section) to scrub the glass & metal trim and then rinsed. This worked after trying Magic Eraser for Bathrooms and glass scraper. And we squeegee our doors after every shower - it still builds up. I put RainX on years ago so don't know if it helped or not.

Lowes Hardware has a YouTube video comparing different methods of removing hard water stains from shower doors. Barkeepers Friend was the winner! I bought some and am going to try it out! I have tried dawn & vinegar and everything else.

I use dryer sheets. Wet the sheet well and scrub the glass. Not much scrubbing needed either. The sheets loose water really quickly, so to avoid using too many, scrub quickly. Also, rinse almost immediately because the solution from the sheet dries really fast. When that happens, you will need to repeat the steps.

I know everyone is bragging about the use of vinegar for cleaning the shower doors. But if you want a quick and sparkling solution. Use a dryer sheet! It should be wet , wipe down your tub, shower and fixtures. It removes all soap scum and dirt. Be sure to rinse and dry only if you want.

WOW this really works! and works very well! I don't have hard water but I do have soap scum etc on glass shower doors and I used the dryer sheets I had for putting near the litter box, Gain Original, and they work great! Like Anonymous said, make sure they are very wet and scrub fast. Thank You so much for posting this! and thank you also to whomever else posted this tip, I haven't read all the posts yet. I just had to write after doing my two shower doors and walls. :)

I do the same thing since i have hard water too. (imo....water softeners add just enough salt to your water it makes it not reccomended for those on no salt diets for medical reasons & its not reccomended to water your plants with the water because of the added salt, and its more expensive than vinegar to maintain). One more thing i do is add a cup of vinegar to my dishwasher, every load, so buildup does not happen in there. Works like a charm

Best for cleaning your dishwasher is to throw a cup of powdered Tang orange drink in an empty dishwasher and run it through a cycle. It'll look brand new inside!! It doesn't work on anything else. Just the dishwasher. Learned this many years ago.

marble tile and other pourous surfaces do well with grain alcohal and water. I use 4 oz vodka and 12 oz of distilled water, not the hard water from the tap. and add essential oils to improve scent and disinfect.

HELP!!! Can anyone help with this one? I used this on my bathroom sink faucet which is brushed nickel. When I checked on it, it after about an hour it had tarnished the brushed nickel! I couldn't believe that something as gentle as vinegar could do that! Does anyone know of a way to restore my brushed nickel?

Vinegar does work. Just don't use vinegar to get rid of water stains on granite. The acid in the vinegar is not good for the stone. I've checked with Home Depot and other granite installers and they all say the same thing. It works but not recommended.

Still looking for a response on glass. My shower door is horrible and just two days after moving into my new home the windshield on my car is completely covered (sprinklers hit it accidentally) and now I literally cannot see out of it to drive. HELP!

I use peroxide on all my windows and shower doors. Just fill a spray bottle with straight hydro peroxide and spray it on and wipe off . I use a lint free towel. Works like magic. It's cheap and it sanitizes

For shower doors I have heard of mixing hot vinegar (heated in microwave for a couple min) combined with dawn dish soap in a squirt bottle and spray on the doors. Haven't tried it yet but I hear it works great!

I don't know why I hadn't thought to try this on our hard water stains around the sink/shower head! I run a little vinegar in the dishwasher with every load because of the hard water we have here (thanks Utah!)... Never thought to try it on other hard water problem areas. Isn't vinegar amazing! Thanks for the tip!

Anonymous: for your glass shower doors, try Bounce dryer sheets. Just rub one on the glass. If that doesn't work for you, try straight lemon juice. Cut the lemon in half and rub it on, then rinse the door. I've done both of these and then used RainX (from the auto parts store) to make the glass repel water and it stays clean longer.

We have tried everything to remove our thick water line from our hot tub and it was vinegar that did the trick! We also use it in the coffee maker and in the shower and I'm looking forward to a shiny sink & faucet! It's hard to believe all the power in vinegar!

we have a 30 year old montgomery ward porcelain sink unit in our kitchen that has been heavily stained by hard water. when we bought the house last june i tried scrubbing it with every chemical known to man to remove the built up scale. nothing has worked thus far. i have vinegar soaked paper towels on the sink now, fingers crossed. lol.

I have an old porcelain sink also and I use Bar Keeper's Friend on it. It is a gentle scouring powder (or you can buy the liquid) that has a little bit of acid but will not scratch up your sink. I buy mine from Walmart for about $2 a can. You can also use this on glass-top cooking ranges which is way, way cheaper than those bottles of cleaners for the ranges.

For those who don't already know, it is a wonderful weed killer as well (just don't get it on the lawn) we use it in the cracks of our drive way and the next day dead weeds. (white vinegar is what we use).

For any of you who don't know, this was a surprise to me, white vinegar is a great weed killer, just don't get it on the lawn. We use it in the cracks of our lawn and side walk and the next morning surprise surprise, dead weeds!

Yes, I just used it yesterday in my toilet. I first poured about a cup and let it sit for 30 minutes, then scrubbed with toilet brush. Then flushed, and it looked like it got some off. Mine was really bad, I tried everything. Then I poured about a cup more, let it sit for longer, maybe a couple of hours, scrubbed again and more came off.Long story short, I did this all day and ended up using about 4 cups and the stains are almost all gone thismorning. I'm a believer.

The GREATEST tip that I ever got for cleaning toilets (I'm a housekeeper) was to use 3M Drywall sanding sheets. A pumice stone will sometimes scratch the toilet and leave marks behind. Vinegar does work well in addition. But, if you've tried everything & can't quite get those nasty rings and stains from the toilet, use a 3M Medium grit (120) Drywall sanding sheet. I swear by them & keep a supply on hand. They are absolutely AMAZING! They remove those toilet stains with very little effort, they do not scratch or leave marks behind. They will scratch faucets and glass, so don't use them there. You can buy them at Home Depot on the Drywall tools aisle. For a pack with 3 sheets, it's less than $4. I cut them into 3rd's or 4th's, and you can use the same piece for a long time (just soak in hydrogen peroxide for a bit to kill the germs). Good luck & hsppy cleaning!! : )

Buy one of those Mr. Clean sponges, cut a slice off and leave it to soak in your toilet bowl. Also, turn the water off behind your toilet, then flush, soak a cloth in baking soda and vinegar lay it on the crusty hard water stains to soak for an hour or two, it makes mush of the scale and it's so much easier to clean. Not everyone is able to put out the money for a new toilet no matter how old the toilet is :). Putting a couple of denture tablets in the toilet bowl and allow them to sit for a while will also help. Good luck

Even with a water softener you can get hard water stains, because they typically won't soften both your hot and cold water in the kitchen. Softened water tastes different, so they will often leave the cold water line alone. Just FYI, for those considering a softener, you may not ever completely get rid of the hard water stains. (Unless you use vinegar!) :)

Almost any acid will cut threw the hard water, calcium, deposits. CLR is just that. Lemon juice, lime juice will work also with better aromas.

Caution! Acid will also eat other types of calcium, such as, marble, limestone, travertine and possibly other natural stones called granite. If you have a counter top made of any of these materials beware. Test a hidden area before going whole hog and pouring on the vinegar directly.

My mom got a recipe for "Pergo" flooring cleaner and it works great! It uses equal parts of Apple Cider VINEGAR, rubbing alcohol, and water (like 1 cup of each), and 3 drops of blue Dawn Dishwashing soap. Mix together and use to mop floors. I put mine in a spray bottle and then use my swiffer-type mop to clean my floors. I've also used the big rag mop to do large floors. This cleaner makes the dirt "float" across the floors. It's awesome!

WD40 works great for softening up hard water scale. It takes about 10-15 minutes. I use it on my swamp cooler where water gets splashed up on stuff. The rollers in the swamp cooler were so bad you could not pull them off the motor drive. Not even with a pry bar. Sprayed them and they cam right off after waiting about 10 minutes. The scale becomes soft enough I can scrap it of the piece. I used a screw driver to scrap it off with. WD40 should work great in the house to, all although I would not use a screw driver to scrap with on anything good.

My friend was telling us about using vinegar on the carpet for pet odors and said she has begun using it in her laundry as a freshener so I too began using it in my laundry, it really does work wonders! I keep my 'rags' separate from other laundry and they tend to have a distinctive odor but when I use the vinegar the laundry comes out smelling just fine. I have since read that it will help keep the hard water stains down in your washer as well.

You got me on "wiped off without any scrubbing". I hate absolutely hate, the mess that hard water makes. It makes the kitchen faucets look like they aren't being cleaned when it's just the opposite. As you said, you scrubbed yours every day. Thanks for the tip.

How would you clean severe hard water stains from granite, marble and oil-rubbed bronze and/or satin finished faucets? Vinegar is too harsh and the pumice stone seems to scratch. Can I safely use WD-40?

you can use white vinegar in your coffee maker once a month. i half fill it and run thru a filter in to the carafe. when cool can be put in spare bottle to use again. then run thru plain water to rinse. ready for coffee again.

To double or enhance the cleaning power of vinegar, heat it up first in the microwave, it will clean faucets, shower doors, most anything. I spray it on and let it work a while and then wipe or scrub a bit and the hard water and soap scum are gone.

I love the smell of my Fabric Softener but, it was a bit thick and left a build up in my HE washer.. I cut the softener in half with white vinegar. Vinegar alone is a great fabric softener. Cutting my smell good softener like this not only kept me from having to clean my washer dispenser out the I save a small fortune and my washer no longer has the hard water build up in it.

Vinegar is a wonder at cleaning but getting it to stay where you want it and to remain wet so it works is difficult. I make a product called De-Glue Goo, a non-toxic gel that is used by woodworkers to soften water based glues for easy removal. I have several customers, including myself who also use it to clean hard water deposites from faucets, shower heads, etc. Because it is a gel it stays where you put it. It will dry but it does so slowly, so you can leave it to work for a longer period of time. You can cover it with plastic wrap to keep it wet for hours if you need it to work longer. It is non-toxic. You can find it at de-gluegoo.com.

Does anyone know why they say to wash new jeans with vinegar and water to "set" the colors or to wash new towels with vinegar to make them more absorbant? Seems like the cleaning power of vinegar would take color out instead of "set" it.

I have severe hard water buildup on the sides and bottom of my fiberglass tub. Please give me some advice on how to loosen and remove it. It gets so thick that I have actually chissled it off before. It's awful !!!

Holy crap, it worked. I was 100% skeptical even though I know the power of vinegar for cleaning floors, stoves, counters, windows, etc. I put some saturated paper towels around the stainless fixtures on the sink and in 20 minutes, 5 years of hard water buildup was gone. And I had tried the WD40 first without it budging. Miracle! Thank you!!!

I put some saturated paper towels around the stainless fixtures on the sink and in 20 minutes, 5 years of hard water buildup was gone. And I had tried the WD40 first without it budging. Miracle! Thank you!!!love your useful post.I also recommend this post for download app for pc

Does this calcification get into our bodies? I've been adamant about drinking purified water, but I'm concerned with the air I breathe and the water I shower with and brush my teeth. Does anyone else think about this?

I burnt some apple butter in my favorite pot. So I scraped out all the loose gunk, rinsed, then add a layer of water. Add vinegar then bring to a boil. Take off burner and add baking soda. Let sit. I poured off the mixture after a few minutes and scoured with a pad, and got maybe a third of the burnt stuff up. So I had to do it again....I would recommend letting it sit a while to work on the burnt mess. My pot is shiny clean now!